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 Rudolph Diesel was born in Paris on March 18, 1858, the son of Prussian immigrants. Rudolph studied to become
an industrial engineer and by 1880 was building steam engines as an apprentice in a Swiss plant. The steam engine was
remarkably inefficient in its fuel consumption at this time, as nearly 9/10th of the fuel was wasted. Rudolph, raised by a
strict father to loathe waste, believed that there must be a better way.
Diesel developed a theory that revolutionised the concept of the combustion engine. He envisioned
an engine in which air is compressed to such a degree that there is an extreme rise in temperature. When fuel is injected
into the piston chamber with this air, the fuel is ignited by the high temperature of the air, exploding it, forcing the piston
down. Diesel soon received a patent for his design and began building experimental models of his engine. The first working
model ran in 1893 with 26% efficiency, more than double the efficiency of the steam engine. In 1897 the first diesel engine
suitable for practical use operated at a remarkable efficiency of 75%.
 The crowning achievement for Rudolph Diesel's invention came at the 1900 Paris Exposition where the diesel engine took the
Grand Prix. To the amazement of all in attendance his engine was fueled by 100% peanut oil. It is essential to understand
that Diesel believed the utilisation of a biomass fuel to be the real future of his engine. He wanted to provide farmers,
small industries and those in isolated communities the opportunity to produce their own fuel and to compete with the large
monopolies that controlled all energy production at that time.
Vegetable oils were used as fuel for the diesel engine until the 1920's, when diesel engine
manufacturers modified the injection system of the engine to handle the lower viscosity of fossil fuels, which were widely
available and low in cost. The oil tycoons of the day also wielded influence over every aspect of the transportation industry
and shaped the development of the engine to favour their interests.
Rudolph Diesel, like the engine that bears his name, fell victim to the industrialist powers of the
early twentieth century. In 1913, Diesel was on his way to England when he disappeared over the side of the ship; his body
was later found floating in the English Channel. Some suspect suicide, but others believe that there were political reasons
behind his death. The French navy was already using diesel engines and may not have wanted to see the English navy acquire
them. Diesel also opposed the politics of Germany and did not want the German navy to use his engine. His untimely death made
it possible for the German submarine fleet to be powered solely by the diesel engine and soon after inflict heavy damage upon
Allied shipping in World War I.
 Today, people are paying homage to the legacy and vision of Rudolph Diesel by returning to the roots of the diesel engine.
The growing use of biodiesel, a modified vegetable oil, signals that the time is ripe for a shift away from the use of fossil
fuels and toward a plant-based fuel economy.
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